


Everyone Needs An Esmeralda Sometimes

by Small_Hobbit



Category: Whitechapel (TV)
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-11
Updated: 2017-12-11
Packaged: 2019-02-13 12:30:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,403
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12984120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Small_Hobbit/pseuds/Small_Hobbit
Summary: Chandler is behaving strangely and Miles decides to do something about it.





	Everyone Needs An Esmeralda Sometimes

**Author's Note:**

  * For [telm_393](https://archiveofourown.org/users/telm_393/gifts).



The first time anyone realised Chandler couldn’t be feeling well was when Mansell, in a fit of enthusiasm, waved the Mars bar he was eating in the air and wiped chocolate onto Chandler’s shirt.  Everyone sat in silence, waiting for Chandler to explode, but he simply looked at it and then continued talking to Kent as if nothing had happened.  The others shrugged and carried on with their work, but Miles looked curiously at Chandler, and resolved to see if anything further happened.

At first everything continued as normal.  Chandler and Miles went out to interview a couple of people, both of whom denied knowing anything about the crime in question.  Neither officer believed them, but without further details there was nothing more they could do.  They returned to the station, and Miles once more began to compare reports, hoping for a discrepancy somewhere to leap out at him.  It was only as Miles prepared to go home he realised Chandler had walked through a muddy puddle while they were out when he could have avoided it, and then made no attempt to change into clean socks once back in his office.

Miles knocked on Chandler’s door and went in.  “I’m off now, sir,” he said.  “I’m going cross-eyed checking the statements, so I’ve called it a day.”

“Good idea,” Chandler replied.  “I’m sure Judy will be pleased to see you.”

“Is everything okay with you?” 

“Yes, fine, thank you.”  Chandler turned back to the report he was reading and Miles left him to it.

***

The following morning, Chandler was in his office and Kent was at his desk when Miles arrived.

As soon as Kent saw Miles he went over to him and said, “We’ve got a problem, Skip.”

“Go ahead.”

“The bins weren’t emptied last night.  The DI always empties them, unless he’s been called out.  But even then, he’ll do them when he comes in the next morning.”

“I’ll go and talk to him.”

Miles walked over to Chandler’s door, knocked and went in without waiting for an answer.  When Chandler didn’t even raise a token objection he knew things weren’t right.

“Joe,” Miles began, “I don’t know what it is, but there’s clearly something wrong.”

“I’m fine.  I had flu over the weekend, and I haven’t quite got all my energy back yet.”

“Flu, as in a cold, lots of tissues, hot drinks and spending the weekend in front of the telly wrapped up in a blanket, or flu, as in only able to get out of bed to crawl to the bathroom?”

“The latter.”

“You should go home.  You’ve hardly got any energy.  We can manage for the next few days.  Get some rest, you need it.”

“I’ll be fine.  I can work through it.”

Miles watched as Chandler’s head involuntarily headed towards his desk, before he jerked it back up.

“On second thoughts,” Miles said, “I’ve got a better idea.”  He took out his phone and dialled a number.  When it was answered he said, “Hello, love.  Is the spare bedroom usable?  Joe’s had flu and he’s determined to work, whereas what he needs to do is spend some more time in bed.”

Miles listened to the answer, said, “Thanks, love,” and put his phone back in his pocket.  Turning to Chandler he said, “Judy will have the spare room ready by the time we get there.  You can go straight to bed and get some more sleep.”

“I can’t risk giving it to your children.”

“I shouldn’t worry about them.  They’re exposed to enough germs at school and nursery anyway.”

“If you’re sure you’ll call me if anything happens.”

“Of course I will.”  Miles failed to add the ‘if it’s sufficiently urgent’.

They had made it as far as the office door when Chandler stopped.  “I can’t stay at your place.  I won’t have anything I need.”

“We can stop by at your flat, so you can pack a weekend bag.  That will give Judy time to put the clean sheets on and hunt out anything which has disappeared under the bed.”

“Such as what?”  Miles could hear the faint note of panic in Chandler’s voice.

“Stray dolls, lost footballs, nothing of consequence."

***

By the time they made it to Miles’ house, Chandler had changed his mind and was keen to go back to the office. 

“Fair enough,” Miles said, “If that’s what you want, we’ll go back.  But I need you to tell Judy this, because if it comes from me I’ll never hear the end of it.”

Chandler nodded.  He went into the house and found Judy in the kitchen.  He smiled at her and said, “Thank you for the offer.  It was very kind of you, but I really can’t accept.”

“Are you quite sure?” Judy asked.  “At least stay and have a cup of coffee before you go back.”

“Thank you, but no.  I need to be getting on.”

Miles joined them.  “I’ve put your bag upstairs,” he said.

“I told you that I’m not staying after all.”

Miles smiled.  “Could you go and get the bag back while I have a quick word with Judy?”

They listened as Chandler went upstairs and waited for him to come back down again.  When, after a few minutes, he hadn’t appeared, Miles said, “I’ll go and see what’s happening.”

He found Chandler sitting on the bed, with his suitcase open and his hand on the folded pyjama jacket which was lying inside it.

“Are you okay?” Miles asked.

Chandler gave a weak smile.  “I was just thinking how nice it would be to put my pyjamas on and lie down in bed.”

“So why don’t you?”

“Maybe, just for half an hour.”

“Good idea.  And then you can phone for someone to come and pick you up again.”

“I’ll do that.”

“Do you need me to get you anything?  A glass of water, paracetamol?”

“I have both, thank you.”  Chandler took a bottle of water and a packet of tablets out of his case.

“In which case, I’ll leave you to sleep.”

Miles left the bedroom, shutting the door quietly behind him, before going downstairs and letting Judy know what had happened.  He returned to the station and reported to the others he was confident Chandler would back in a few days time, with his high standards of order returned, and they should make the most of it while he was away.

***

Once the shift was over, Miles went home and found the family sitting round the kitchen table eating their tea.  Judy got up to put the kettle on and Miles asked her if she’d heard anything from Chandler.

“Not a peep,” she replied.  “There hasn’t been a sound from upstairs, so I shouldn’t think he’s even woken up.  I did look in on him part way through the afternoon, and he was sound asleep.”  She continued chatting while she made some tea, and finished by saying, “You might want to pop up and check he’s okay, and if he wants anything.”

Miles did as Judy suggested, and knocked quietly on the bedroom door.  There was a muffled grunt, which he interpreted as “Come in!”  He went in and smiled at Chandler, who was looking ruffled, but had a rather better colour than before.

“How are you feeling?” Miles asked.

Chandler half sat up.  “A bit better, thank you.  I hadn’t realised how long I’d slept.”

“That’s all right; you had nothing else to do.”  Chandler gave a half smile, and Miles continued, “Do you want something to eat?  Judy’s got some chicken soup she can heat up and a bit of bread.”

Chandler thought briefly, then said, “Yes, that would be good.  I’m actually feeling slightly hungry.”  He looked around and added, “And Miles, I don’t remember that being there earlier.”

“Oh, that’s Esmeralda,” Miles replied, glancing at the plush rabbit which was looking down at Chandler from her vantage point on the night stand, “She’s there to make sure you get well soon.  That’s her role.”

“Oh, right.”  Chandler lay back down again, pulling the duvet almost up to his ears.  “I suppose she had better stay for the moment.”

Miles grinned as he left the bedroom, once more quietly closing the door.  He went back downstairs and said to Judy, “He’d like some soup, but I’d give it a while – he’ll be asleep again before I can take it up.”

 

 

 


End file.
